Water dispensing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A water dispensing apparatus for use as a drinking fountain, said apparatus comprising a cabinet, a splash tray and water dispensing nozzle on top of said cabinet, a foot pedal member mounted near the bottom of said cabinet, valve means for controlling flow of water to the nozzle, with said valve means being positioned above said splash tray, actuating means for opening said valve means, and linkage means for operatively interconnecting said actuating means and said foot pedal member.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,715,714 6/1929Lindmark..................... 2,781,648

Herman B. Castillo Clawson; Lawrence A. Burke, Royal Oak, Mich. [21Appl. No. 599,003

United States Patent [72] Inventors 2/1957 Lyman 3,069,872 12/1962Sorenscn et 2,914,252 11/1959 Sorensen et al..... 3,006,378 10/1961Erickson et a1. 3,329,345 7/1967 Scott Primary ExaminerLloyd L. King[22] Filed D c. 5, 1966 [45] Patented Jan. 12, 1971 [73] Assignee EatonYale 8: Tovvne Inc.

Cleveland, Ohio splash tray, actuating for opening said valve means, andlinkage means for operatively interconnecting said actuating means andsaid foot pedal member.

fountain, said apparatus comprising a cabinet, a splash tray and waterdispensing nozzle on top of said cabinet, a foot pedal member mountednear the bottom of said cabinet, valve Attorney-Harness, Dickey & PierceABSTRACT: A water dispensing apparatus for use as a drinking means forcontrolling flow of water to the nozzle, with said valve means beingpositioned above said means a corporation of Ohio. by mesne assignments[54] WATER DISPENSING APPARATUS 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[51] Int. [50] 29.5, 32, 16, 30; 251/289; 62/389-395 1 repair-sinceremoval of'the cabinet is} necessary to 1 cesstothevalve,

op a on i-br' fob! iid Mo s." bj's t it c'pts ntm cnuo mom, 7 n i v h v'i w rvst c suited-for'pushbutton orforfoo.pedal o'pe.1utilizingasingleyalve;ho: 'ng and a-rnimr'n vention' will becomeapparent fr and. appendedcelaims taken p r nsd ns i wh s in find,

7 ,be made to the drawings, how'ey This invention relates generally towater dispensing apparatus, and more particularly to wat'erdispensers ofthe type referred to as drinking fountains.

Water dispensers of the present type cenventionally include a cabinethavingv refrigerating apparatus thereimor at least Q means connected toa source of cold water, and a splash tray on the top thereof on which ispositioned a water dispensing nozzle. Water flow is usually controlledeither by a handoperated pushbutton adjacent the top of the cabinet orby'a described with reference to the drawings it should beunfoot-operated pedal positioned-adjacent the bottom thereof, 7

pushbutton directly connected to the valve. Such bubbler valves,however, are not suitable for foot pedal operation because there is noway to control the-valve other than by the pushbutton, and consequentlywhen foot pedal operation is desired a completely different arrangementmust be utilized. it

at the top of the cabinet and to locate the water contrt'al'valvesomewhere within the-cabinet, connected by linkages. tothe foot pedal.in instances where both pushbutton and footpedal operation is desiredthe latter type of construction is used and linkages are additionallyrun from'th'le w e: pushbutton adjacennthe'to'p of the cabinet. asa'consequence, a manufac-i turer of "such apparatus must jr'nakeftwo"eompletely different 7 type of valves, i.e., one fortqp mounting and,one- ,forinternal 3 --mount irig.'-.Fur'thtfl f, internally mountedvalves suffer the 'Accordingly;.itisa primary object ofthe-presentinvention 1 to rovide an i' vm d w t rfdis'ps i g-val vh ch iay e.

L position and t en Out through the nozzle flow passage area 77 I andonthrough andout the nozzle 79.-

- i The valve boss 70 isthreaded at one end thereof so that the mountedon; theitop of dispensercabinet for of a(:- 1' cess}. and which isvparticularlyfor 'therpu'shbutton.

awning- 1 mm th s. i

" nsingap aratus iniz utaway new i no. [shows w lnut FIG. 2is'a-cross;sect nallvie and.

. a sgneii.

FI ofthe water dispensing apparatus of the invention speeificallydesignating -60 how the foot pedal and'itslinlrage are connected to thevalve.

o'perat'edby a pushb uttonor. by :a eonnected'to the valve hy a linkagesystem, or by both the pushbutton and the foot pedal. Thefact that thevalve is generallytop mounted on apparatus rneansthat it's installationis easy as well as that it is easily accessibleforrepair andthelike. l'nadditionftheinven- 7 tion comprises aftop'mounte'd valve which .is'uniquely c'onstructedvs'u'ch that it iscapable of operation byeitherithe top mounted pushbutton or'the' bottom mounted-foot pedal orFor detailed descripti n 'of the iiiventiomreference will now even getacm sisg e w s r in. conjunction with theac bm- I as'n i h vt wp ni sdvve v is n s t operatin g'thevalvejbyfootpedals;'. I i a f 2-2 ofFlG.l;-.

i i thereon by means of a setscrew 93. The lever 92 passes is common insuch cases to provide merely adispensing nozzle derstood that saiddrawings are rather detailed in nature and many modifications andvariations of the structure shown will be apparent to those skilled inthe art and therefore no limitation of the invention should be takenfrom the following detailed description, 1

FIG. 1 shows a water dispensing apparatus 10 which includes a housing 12for a valve 14. The valve and the housing are mounted on the top 16 ofthe water dispensing apparatus 10. The apparatus also includes a footpedal pullrod 20 connected to an over-travel spring 22 which is held onthe rod 20 by a retaining clip 24. The overtravel spring 22 is connectedby the extended end 26 thereof which includes a hook 28 to a lever arm30. Lever 30 is pivotally mounted for rotation on pin 32 which. extendsthrough a support arm 34 of the valve body 36. The slightly upwardcurved end 31 of the lever 30 engages the underside of a second pin 38and the pin 38 extends through a plunger 40 which moves up and down toopen and close the valve 14. The plunger 40 has at the lower end thereofa resilient plunger tip 42 which moves up and down into and out contactwith the valve seat 44 which contains an opening 45 therethrough forpassage of water. The plunger is mounted 'in'the valvebody 36 through abore thereof. Once the [downward direction by the plunger return spring56 which 7 pushes away from the fixed shoulder portion 57 against thespring seat 58 which is mounted on a'collar 60 of the plunger.

The water which flows through the valve is in an upward direction fromthe valve mounting boss or conduit 70, then through the. flow regulatingdevice 72 which, as shown in FIG.

' 1.:eontains three orifices or holes 73 through which the waterdisadvahiages a y 6 e p and j. passesinto the' chamber 75. The materialfor the flow regulatdevice for use in this invention maybe found in US.Pat. No.

3,006,378.. Fromthe chamber 75 the water passesthrough the bore 45 pastthe resilient plunger tip 42 which is in upward ing device is generallyrubber and a suitable example of such a valve bodyfcan bethre'adedthereon and the valve mounting boss c ontains and 'Oring against whichthe valvebody is ".z zlznitted" at-the shoulder portions 82 thereof. Thefemale threaded portion 84,0f the valve body 36 has a recessed portion86 within whichthe flow regulating device is held. Theflowjregulating'device is held within the recess through the use .ofajglandorcollar member 88 which may-be of either the r aded n 's ypRaising-and lowering of the valve plunger 40 to open and close'thevalve'as wellas being operated by the foot pedal link linkage 20'thelever tq which itis connected,'may as well be'operated bythe'rneans" 90 which suitably may be a pushbutton, handle, lever arm, orthe like. The pushbutton or handle90 is connected to the lever 92 andheld in position members 100. When the water dispensing apparatus is notin use, the-lever 92'is held in an off position by the return spring 97.which pushes downwardly against the lever. The return .spring 97 isgenerally U-shaped and held in place by the end portion 99 which setswithin the hollowed out portion 101 2 within the housing forthe v'alve.

.- Of course if the water dispensing apparatus is to be pedal operatedonly, then the opening 94 may suitably be filled in and in this instancethe lever arm 92 and handle means 90 7 would not'be used at all, On theother hand, if the water dispensing apparatus is to be pushbuttonoperated only that is,

, by the means'90, the overtravel spring 22 and foot pedal pullrod 20 aswell as the lever arm 30 are removed from the arrangement such thatthe'valve is only operated by the pushbuthilethe inv'entionis being 75ton orhandle 90. Still further it is readily seen that the valve may beoperated by both the pushbutton or handle 90 as well as the foot pedalattached to the pullrod 20 when both arrangements are left in place.

FIG. 2 shows in more detail how the lever arms 30 and 92 are pivotedabout the support arm 34. Both lever 30 and lever 92 are mounted on thepin 32 which passes through the support arm 34. The lever arm 92includes a U-shaped end having members 100 which surround the plunger 40and pass beneath the pin 38 at the underside thereof such that when thelever 92 is pivoted in a downward direction the plunger is raised toopen the valve. In addition, it should be noted that there is aclearance designated 102 between the members 100 and the plunger 40 onboth sides thereof.

FIG. 3 is a further illustration-ofthewater dispensing apparatus of thisinvention specifically showing how the foot pedal 300 is adapted for usein the apparatus. Foot pedal 300 This in turn pulls the foot pedalpullrod 20in a downward direction and this pulls the spring 22 also in adownward direction such that the hook 28 pulls downwardly on the lever30 shown in FIG. 1 to 'raiselthe plunger 38 and turn on-the water. Thefoot pedal and structureas shown in FIG. 3 includes its mountingarrangement within the cabinet and top 16 thereof. In addition it shouldbenoted that the foot pedal 300 and pullrod are biased. in an upwarddirection by the return spring 306 which is supported on an interiorshelf 308 within the cabinet 15. It should also be noted that on the Icabinet top 16 there is a turned up flange 310 which fits the internalportion 312 of the valve housing to thereby retain the valve and itshousing and prevent same from turning, etc. once it has been mountedupon the cabinet top 16.

The advantages of the invention in accordance with the above descriptionshould be fairly apparent. First the flow regulating device is made of aflexible material such as rubber, and this provides the flow regulatorwith a dual function. Namely, since the flow regulator is made of aflexible material and since it contains the orifices as described, ithas the function of regulating the flow rate of the water through thevalve and normally this amount of flow would be in approximate figures,about 30 gallons per hour at a pressure of approximately 20 up to I50p.s.i. In addition, the flow regulator since it is flexible material,provides a seal against which the valve seat 44 is positioned to therebyprevent leakage through the valve at the valve seat.

Another advantage is thatthe valve plunger and spring arrangement usedprovides the water dispensing apparatus of this invention with a safetyrelease such as, for example, when the water coming up through theconduit 70 freezes. In such an instance, the valve acts as the safetyrelease when pressures in the range of about 250 plus or minus 50 psi.are reached.

Still further, another advantage is that the water dispensing apparatusis easy to assemble and disassemble because the valve and it housing aretop mounted on the cabinet 15 and this in turn means that since thevalve and its housing are easy to get to the apparatus is easy to repairif necessary.

Still further another advantage is that with respect to the combinationpushbutton pedal-type water fountains now on the market, such waterfountains have remotely located valves which entail the use of long pushand pullrods in connection with the remotely located valve if it isintended that the pedal water fountain be capable of dual operation,whereas the present invention requires only one long linkage for dualoperation while at the same time providing easy accessibility due to thetop mounted valve structure.

Still further in present known pedal operated water fountainsincorporating a dual operating arrangement whereby the pedal-operatedwater fountain can be turned on by a top mounted pushbutton as wellthere have been definite drawbacks, and the reason for this is that itis difficult if not impossible to have an adaptable water dispensingstructure for use as either a top or bottom operated fountain because itis too expensive to use a remotely located valve if the water fountainis to be only top operated. The present invention overcomes this in thatthe valve is top mounted for alla pplications and, as previouslydisclosed, if the foot pedal operation is desired as well, it is onlynecessary to add a single linkage system to thereby provide the footpedal operation.

Still another advantage of the present invention is that the plunger 40is constructed within the apparatus such that there is nothing exertingan upward force on the plunger when the water dispensing apparatus isnot in use. By this it is meant that the lever 92 which is used to raisethe'plunger in pushbutton operation has members which press jupwardlyagainst the pin 32 passing through the plunger; howexer, these members100 of the lever 92 are provided with a clearance as indic ated at 102in FIG. 2 such that the members 100 do not contact the plunger when thewater dispenser is. not in use. In

i addition, the lever 30 and its end portions 31 ask-shown in FIG.

2 also are clear of the plunger 40 and make no contact therewith whenthe water dis'penseris not in operation. Sincethere is a clearancebetween the plunger '40 and both the levers 92 and 30 which'actuate theplunger, this means the plunger is held in a downward position only bythe spring 56, and it is not contacted by any otherv obstructions.Therefore the plunger functions to provide an accurate safety orpressure relief upon freezeup or the like.

l. A water, dispensing valve comprising: j i

a valve body and housing therefor;

a valve in said body including a movable valve stem accessible fromoutside said housing;

first lever means pivotally mounted on said housing and engageable withsaid stem to open said valve;

second and separate lever means pivotally mounted on said housing andengageable independently of said first lever means with said stem toopen said valve; and each of said lever means being independentlyactuatable to independently open said valve;

2. The valve of claim 1, further characterized as including meansnormally biasing said stem in a direction to close said valve. z v

3. The valve of claim 1, wherein said levers both pivot about one andthe same pin.

4. The valve of claim 3, further characterized in that said leversengage a second single pin on the stem.

5. The valve of claim 1, wherein:

said valve includes a valve seat; and

said stem includes a generally spherical resilient member engageablewith the seat to control flow therethrough, said resilient member beingspring biased to a closed position.

6. The valve of claim 5, wherein 'said stem when in the closed positionincludes means operative to prevent forces from being exerted on thestem by said levers. 1

7. A water dispensing apparatus for use as a drinking fountain, saidapparatus comprising:

a cabinet; 7

a splash tray and water dispensing nozzle on top of said cabinet;

a remote member mounted on said cabinet below and spaced from saidsplash tray;

valve means for controlling flow of water to the nozzle, said valvemeans being positioned above said splash tray; actuating means foropening said valve means;

linkage means for operatively interconnecting said actuating means andsaid remote member;

a hand-operated member positioned above said splash tray;

and

connector means operatively interconnecting said handoperated member andsaid actuating means, said valve means including a valve body, and saidconnector means including a lever pivotally mounted on said valve bodyand engaging said actuating means.

for use in a drinking fountain 8. The apparatus of claim 7, whereincludes a second lever pivotally mount and engaging said actuating means.

said linkage means ined on said valve body

1. A water dispensing valve for use in a drinking fountain comprising: a valve body and housing therefor; a valve in said body including a movable valve stem accessible from outside said housing; first lever means pivotally mounted on said housing and engageable with said stem to open said valve; second and separate lever means pivotally mounted on said housing and engageable independently of said first lever means with said stem to open said valve; and each of said lever means being independently actuatable to independently open said valve.
 2. The valve of claim 1, further characterized as including means normally biasing said Stem in a direction to close said valve.
 3. The valve of claim 1, wherein said levers both pivot about one and the same pin.
 4. The valve of claim 3, further characterized in that said levers engage a second single pin on the stem.
 5. The valve of claim 1, wherein: said valve includes a valve seat; and said stem includes a generally spherical resilient member engageable with the seat to control flow therethrough, said resilient member being spring biased to a closed position.
 6. The valve of claim 5, wherein said stem when in the closed position includes means operative to prevent forces from being exerted on the stem by said levers.
 7. A water dispensing apparatus for use as a drinking fountain, said apparatus comprising: a cabinet; a splash tray and water dispensing nozzle on top of said cabinet; a remote member mounted on said cabinet below and spaced from said splash tray; valve means for controlling flow of water to the nozzle, said valve means being positioned above said splash tray; actuating means for opening said valve means; linkage means for operatively interconnecting said actuating means and said remote member; a hand-operated member positioned above said splash tray; and connector means operatively interconnecting said hand-operated member and said actuating means, said valve means including a valve body, and said connector means including a lever pivotally mounted on said valve body and engaging said actuating means.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said linkage means includes a second lever pivotally mounted on said valve body and engaging said actuating means.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said lever included in said connector means and said second lever included in said linkage means each operate independently of the other. 